Implementation of a National Materials R&D Policy

A bill now under consideration in Congress will provide for a national policy for materials science and technology and strengthen U.S. materials research and development (R&D) capability and performance. Research on improved exploration, extraction and processing techniques, new materials and possible substitutes, methods of recycling, and new uses, can help to solve a variety of problems. GAO was requested to examine institutional alternatives for a national materials R&D policy, management of R&D information, and means for industry to maximize its use of Government research results. The need for a Federal materials R&D policy is compelling. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) plans a comprehensive review of Federal materials R&D for fiscal year 1981, for which a large information base will be needed, the current one being inadequate. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should issue an Executive Order for Federal agencies to report all current materials research to the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange. The House Committee on Science and Technology should press OMB for such an order. OSTP should establish a program and the means to coordinate and set long-range goals for Federal materials R&D. Aluminum manufacturing, an energy-intensive industry, depends on bauxite ore, 90 percent of which is imported. However, aluminum can also be made of nonbauxitic ores, such as kaolin clays, which are abundant in the United States. The Bureau of Mines has emphasized exploitation of these resources but should be more concerned with the development of more energy-efficient methods of aluminum production, as the Department of Energy is. OSTP should evaluate these efforts and coordinate them for efficiency. OSTP should also involve itself in phosphate research which is proceeding under the auspices of several agencies and organizations. Government phosphate research should focus on the vital long-term availability of domestic phosphates, most from central Florida. Because phosphate mines require 7 years to begin operation, immediate attention is required. OSTP must obtain full information on all public and private materials R&D, and determine national needs and objectives and the degree to which they are being met. Industrial R&D efforts could be coordinated to complement Federal activities.